Changed from the Inside Out

 

As I learned to enter God's rest and walk in His Spirit, I experienced intense withdrawals from my former codependent lifestyle. I acted like a schizophrenic.

One moment I would say or do something codependent and the next moment I would step into my new role as a Spirit-led Believer and say or do the opposite. I confused people by this dual personality.

Gradually, I decreased in my role as a codependent and Christ increased in me. I learned to say "No" unless God told me to say "Yes." He taught me to let the job go undone; so others whom God was calling to that role would step up and do it instead of me.

I started to see and appreciate the gray hues and tones in life, rather than seeing only black or white. My flexibility increased and my rigid extremes decreased.

The demon of perfectionism left my soul and I found joy in the messes of life as I had more time to enjoy other pursuits, which God called me to do. I actually left dishes in the sink and went to bed.

God's Spirit slowly changed my perspective from a carnal, earth-bound outlook to a spiritual, heavenly-minded one. He also healed my wounded soul, traumatized and dysfunctional since childhood and young adulthood ( www.theophostic.com ).

I released the shame and feelings of defectiveness attached to the wounds of the past and accepted His divine character and the fruit of His Spirit in their place (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 5:22-23).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for exposing Satan's lies, which made me believe that I had to earn love by my behavior. Your Agape love opened me up to expect unconditional love from the significant others in my life. The fear, insecurity, defensiveness and over-sensitivity, which plagued my life decreased as I learned to trust You in spite of the untrustworthy people in my life.

You taught me the reality of the fact that You work out everything for our good, even the negative experiences in our life, which threaten to choke the very life from our soul (Roman 8:28). You trained me to look for the seed for a miracle in every trial. You are our worthy, benevolent Father and we are completely loved by You.

Thought for the Day:

Self-destructive behaviors - driven by frustration, anger and a wounded soul - diminish as we learn to enter God's rest and bask in His peace and joy, which are our true source of strength. - Nehemiah 8:10

 

Lord of the Flies

Read: Psalm 92:1-5

“He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." - Ps 91:15-16  

The window air conditioning unit mounted into the wall of our miniature, antique cottage home quit working. My husband removed the defective unit and went to purchase a new one. During his absence our house quickly swarmed with flies pouring through the opening! Their constant buzzing got on my nerves, so I commanded them to leave in Jesus’ name. I never doubted they would go because of promises such as Psalm 34:15-17 and Psalm 56:9.

After tucking my husband into bed that night, I went to snuggle into the fluffy couch pillows with a Christian novel. It was not until then that I realized there were absolutely no flies in the house! Humbled that I failed to thank God sooner, I jumped off the couch and joyfully pranced around the living room with my hands raised and loud whispered thanksgiving pouring from my lips to our awesome God. He did not have to answer my prayer, but He abundantly accomplished my request (Ephesians 3:20-21).

God delights in answering the prayers of His Saints (Proverbs 15:8). The perfect antidote for insomnia is to thank Him nightly for His faithful care. Even in the most adverse circumstances, we triumph over every difficulty by waiting on His Spirit’s leading moment by moment throughout the day.

Prayer:

Lord, it is so good to give You thanks. Help me to remember to praise You for answered prayer. Even in the sad times and the mad times, I will sing praises to Your name. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

We relish in God’s constant provision, but we do not really show Him appreciation until we start declaring His loving kindness to our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors.